Merry Christmas And Oh Hell Yah Your Crazy!

Let me describe the elusive item you spent so much time seeking out in the cold in the middle of the night, at least what I understand them to be. A zhu zhu pet is simply an electronic hamster. It's cute, fuzzy, has a lot of accessories, and is this years hot toy. Now the fate of most hot toys is that your child will play with them for six months and then lose interest. Also you have to stand in long lines or go to multiple stores to get one of these.
Now lets compare the zhu zhu pet to another common item, the lowly hamster which has been entertaining kids for generations. A hamster is cute, fuzzy, environmentally friendly since it requires no batteries and will most likely die in six months when your child loses interest in it.
So yes I believe that you are crazy for waiting in line and going through so much trouble to get a fake hamster when you could just get a real one so much easier.
Still even after saying all that I understand the drive to buy your child the perfect toy for Christmas. The definition of that perfect toy is the one that they just won't stop talking about. The one toy that every time they are asked what they want for Christmas it's the first and potentially only thing they say. The toy that they put at the top of every Christmas list and that they tell every mall Santa about. Only then should you as a parent get a free pass to act like an insane person and stand in ridiculous line in the middle of the night to get that toy. Unfortunately I don't think that's what is happening most of the time. Most of the time I think parents are standing in line because they have either bought into the door buster hype, or the advertising hype, or my favorite, the "there is going to be a shortage" hype. Any of the people who have bought into the hype truly are crazy for standing in those insane lines. But, if you just want Santa to be your kids hero, I'm willing to give you a pass on some insanity at this time of year.

Rachel

Mom's View - Black Friday

Hi all (7 readers)! Happy holidays! it's been a busy time around here. 2 kid's birthdays and Thanksgiving. I still have all my shopping to do even after my attempt at Black Friday shopping. Now let me first say that I have never shopped on black friday but this year I have seen how having a kid will make you do crazy shit. I hate the crowds and I just never cared about getting a deal that much to get up at 4 am to go to a store. The whole concept kind of makes my stomach turn. I mean, people are starving out there but we americans are so materialistic and plagued by consumerism that we actually mob the malls on this weekend to buy buy buy and most people are just throwing it on their credit cards. Duh people! as soon as you pay that interest was the deal really worth it? Enough of that rant. back to topic.

So I never have ventured out on this day, that was until the dawn of Zhu Zhu pets. Arg! These things are driving me crazy. My daughter wants one soooo bad and this is actually a toy that she would play with (proven by the fact that she carries a small hedgehog around with her everywhere she goes and that doesn't even talk). made even worse by the fact that I really like these things too. They are so cute and cheap. only $8! that is if you can find one otherwise they're $25-50 on the web (greedy bastards). I love my daughter so much that I actually decided to go to Toys R Us Thanksgiving night for a chance to grab one of these furry little lovable hamsters.

They were scheduled to open at midnight and they would have zhu zhu's in stock. I live about 15-20 minutes away and figured if I left at 11:00 then I could just hang out in the car until 12. Was I wrong. When I pulled up there was already about 150+ in line! It was about 35 degrees outside. I had on a regular coat with a hoodie, jeans, gym shoes with no socks. Once I was in line I realized I had an umbrella for wind deflection and blankets in my car. But there was no way I was going to give up my place. Within minutes there was another 30 people behind me. By the time the doors opened I was in about the top 5-10% of the line. Now I wasn't feeling so bad about where I was! They were handing out tickets for the big items, zhu zhu one of them. They never came by us and it was 12 so I figured they might be handing them out by the door. Got to the door, saw the manager, and lo and behold they were already gone! How many did they have, like 2? I went in anyway figuring I would pick up my daughter's birthday gifts. Grabbed a few things and the checkout line was all the way at the back of the store. No way was I waiting in line for 30 minutes for spongebob legos. So I left empty handed and exhausted. I cooked all day, cleaned, froze for an hour outside, and went toy shopping. Stupid stupid stupid.

All that being said I can't believe I actually had fun. The anticipation, joking around with my new friends in line, hoping they had the dream toy my little girl wanted. Next year I think I'm going to do it again except this time I'm doing the following:
1) show up earlier
2) bring hot coffee like the person in front of me had (my fantasies of bowling her over and stealing her starbucks could be another post)
3) bring a folding chair and a blanket
4) bring a long list and get all my toy shopping done
5) BRING A FRIEND! to hold my place in line while I run to the car, to watch the cart while I squeeze in an aisle, and for the company.

I was surrounded by other crazy moms and loved it. I won't yet discuss the parents who brought KIDS! really! infants, toddlers and older kids. My god! it was cold and late, I wanted to scream at them "Go home, put your kid in bed!" Not to mention that going to a toy store WITH kids is at the top of my worst activites list - listed after cleaning up dog poo and just before watching my husband clip his toe nails.

Did I mention that my WONDERFUL husband took a little trip by target on saturday and got the last zhu zhu pet they had (15 minutes after opening). He was soooooo proud of himself. He's been putting out scouts as far as Singapore and China and checking with Target on all their delivery days to please his daughter. What a great dad! You should have seen him strutting his "I'm so happy with myself" stuff all day!

So Rachel, do you think we're crazy for going this far to please the little ones and see their smiling little faces on christmas morning light up when they get their biggest wish? oh! and would you go with me next year? I know you're sneaky and conniving. The Perfect Partner!

Our Blog Is Failing Our 7 Followers

So I signed on today realizing that I haven't posted since June! This is a disservice to our 7 followers. Maybe we will be able to keep up with it now that summer seems to be over. Summer must be over seeing as it isn't even 70 degrees outside today. So i am now going to attempt to make this post my summer wrap up to catch everyone up on where life is at the moment.

Months ago I posted about Wolfgang the super dog who can't be killed by ordinary means. Well he escaped from our yard in late May and is still on the lamb. Rob checks the pound for him regularly but no sign of the little devil. At this point I have to believe someone has taken him in and he is bringing someone else his own special brand of happiness. So much for microchips in dogs working.

I am still attending trapeze class every week which I love. Side effects from that have been increased upper body strength, I'm back to wearing a size 8 jeans, calluses on my hands, bruises on the backs of my knees, bruises on the tops of my feet, one ripped open blister on my hand (no make that 2), and finding out that I can actually climb a rope. However, due to all the strange bruises one of the guys I work with was joking around about me needing the number to a women's shelter.

Another interesting moment of the summer was just this past weekend at Kerri's block party. This so highlights my lack of a maternal instinct (speaking of maternal instinct, if I lost a dog imagine what would happen to a child). In order to get her cute little boy down the block I was waving a bowl of chips in front of him (I use this technique to get my dog into her gated area at night) and then later I referred to him as a puppy. Yep, I have trouble distinguishing kids and puppies.

The final part of this post about me is that I am looking for a new job. I'm bored and annoyed with mine and after I find something else there will be many more entertaining things to post here about my place of employment. But, I refuse to be one of those people you hear about who writes all kinds of things about their job online and then they are surprised when someone they work with sees it and they get fired for it. So any job stories will have to wait for future posts.

Last thing I would like to mention here is my personal medical opinion on Michael Jackson. Not that I particularly liked or disliked him, but this whole death situation has fascinated me from a sick twisted medical perspective. What doctor in their right mind thought you could give someone valium, ativan, versed and then top it off with propofol and then expected their patient to live? That's enough drugs to kill a horse. I truly believe Michael Jackson had insomnia and a lot of people under estimate insomnia and don't treat it enough. But you don't give a person the drugs that you would normally use to knock a person out for say a hip replacement just so they can take a nap. His doctor deserves to go to jail not for killing him, and certainly not for what the police were saying at one point which was "giving drugs to an addict". He needs to go to be prosecuted for stupidity.

So to our 7 blog followers and whoever else happens to read this, happy rest of summer!

RACHEL

I need to blog!

Arg! Sorry, I know. I know. I really need to blog more. But it's summer and I'm distracted. I really need to join Rachel at the conditioning class. I may go tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. I promise.

So I was trolling the internet for a few minutes and came across a website that I like and found some really cool things that I wanted to share. The website is http://modernmom.com/. You can sign up to review products for them if you like. They have a section called "must-haves" with really cool things akin to www.coolmompicks.com. Here's some things I found...

A plate to help you with portion size http://modernmom.com/must_haves/article/3872

A brownie pan that gives every piece edges! http://modernmom.com/must_haves/article/2334

Ketchup that's good for you (my son LOVES ketchup) http://www.krazyketchup.org/home.html.

Another website I like is http://www.sweetiesswag.com/ a place where you can find all things free and complimentary. My favorite right now - a generous free sample of the new Bare Minerals Matte foundation at sephora including a free brush. I like the idea of mineral makeup but never really found one I liked that didn't itch or dry me out or look really really shiny or wasn't even mineral at all. This new one has no bismuth oxychloride which can cause itching and does have some good for your skin ingredients. I personally don't believe that makeup will give you great skin but this looks promising and has uva/uvb spf 15 as well. For moms on the go, brushing on some spf powder that will make your skin look more even is always good!

That's all for now. Talk to ya soon!

- k

Time For A Post Since this Blog is Being Neglected

So I always joke about have no responsibilities when compared my mom friends. I have a job (that' only 4 days a week) Rob and the dogs. Well obviously that was to much to keep up after because Wolfgang it on the run again. It's been over a week and we still haven't found him. For as evil as that dog is I actually miss him. But losing him made me think. If i can't keep track of a 13 yr old dog maybe it's good that we don't have kids. I'd be running up and down street's with pictures going "have you seen my little boy/girl" it's embarrassing when you doing for a dog. It's gotta be way worse if you don't remember when you left you kid."And now for
something completely different." I went to my first aerial conditioning class today. Unfortunately she actually has responsibilities beyond job, rob, and now 1 dog. After all she has two kids under five, jimmy, and a house to take care of. Oh yeah and she still has 2 dogs. But back to the class. It was 2 hours long. I thought I was going to die during the first 30 minutes which was all straight cardio and ab work. Then it went into some strength training, they used those big ball thingies, the half ball thingy, a scarier more primitive version of a thigh master. shoulder shrugs hanging from the trapeze, assisted pull ups (like i could really do those without assistance). The came the funniest part of the evening. Now I was supposed to climb this silk rope (note for any one who may try this in the future - silk is slippery) so finally at one point I made it about 10 ft up a silk rope and then slid down slowly parallel to the floor until I wound up flat on my back on a crash mat. I was laughing hysterically and had to tell the overly supportive instructor that it was ok for her to laugh too because i knew that i looked like something out of a cartoon. After we completed that it was time to do a little bit of strength and technique work on the trapezes. Mostly it was a lot of was to work your abs while hanging from a bar that eventually preps you to be able to do trick easier. I don''t know about that. All i know is that it was a good workout (I'm somewhat sore already) and i had a great time doing it.
I think everyone who reads this ought to think of something they have always wanted to try. it could be kick boxing, actual boxing, yoga, mat palates (I'd stay away from the machine thing they use, Jen pointed out to me it looks like the torture device they used to use to stretch people and now I can get that out of my head) gym wheel, belly dancing, pole dancing, or zumba. Once you've found something that grabs you attention grab a buddy a give it a shot. worse thing that happens you don't like it and you won't go back. Best thing that happens you could be laughing hysterically at yourself and having a really good time!R. Thursday, June 11, 2009

What aA Beautiful Day For My Car To Be In The Shop!

Normally when people have to call into work its for being sick. Not me. I had to call in for my car in the shop. Although it's an expensive day off, I can't think of a nicer day the a 70 degree sunny day to not have to go to work. I was able to go on a nice long bike ride around Oak Park and I think I will take my dog for a walk in a little bit. After all she should get out too! So counting this weekend this is the third beautiful day I'm at home.
I have the same problem as Kerri, I get distracted easily which it why I haven't posted recently. I also have been working out like crazy. Trampoline at night and walking on my breaks at work. Also I've been able to start biking on my days off now that the weather is better. But I really don't consider bike rides a true workout. They are also just good stress relief, also I only do that when the whether is nice so it's kind of a bonus for me. Once it gets warmer I can even get a nice tan while doing that. But I forget to blog once my mind is focused on something else.
The only downside to the exercise program. I need new clothes! I put on my cute cropped jeans from last summer and I could pull them off without opening them. This has happened with pants before when I've lost weight and is aided considerably by my lack of an ass! Seriously I could pull them right off, do any of you reading this realize how ridiculous that looks. I didn't even have to do that shimmy type move. One pull and I could de-pants myself. Woman aren't supposed to be able to do that. Oh well, I see a shopping trip in my future after I check the rest of my summer clothes and find out what else I can do that with.
R.

Working out causes brain damage

What I mean is, when I focus on working out nothing else seem to get done! including blogging. it's like every spare second I have is devoted to trying to squeeze in some exercise and a shower. My brain cannot seem to focus on anything else :) So sorry for the lack of posts lately. I guess this can be considered a short hiatus.. It's been going pretty well. We both have been exercising like addicts and although we can fit in smaller clothes the pounds have not been oozing off like we want them to. I guess it's because we don't have too much to lose and we are building muscle. Whatever! I want to drop like 20 pounds in a week like on biggest loser :) I guess anything worth having is worth waiting for so we'll just keep plugging away at it and hopefully be ready in another month for swimsuit season. Yeah! Spring is here!!! Woohoo!!!!!!

Playground Equipment for Adults!

(NO THIS POST IS NOT DIRTY)

Well it's Sunday night and after a fun weekend and reading Kerri's recent post
I realize I ought to put something up here.
Yes I have been on board the fitness train with Kerri but sadly I have nothing to blame extra pounds on except for cheese fries and funnel cake. Nothing noble like children. Possibly also doughnuts and M&M's. But i prefer my exercising to be more like things you used to do as a kid. I do a lot of walking, and once it warms up I can't wait to get back on my bike (nothing fancy, it's made by Huffy). But my favorite is my nightly half hour jumping on a mini trampoline. Nothing more to make you feel good then watching bad TV and jumping in you living room. Seriously it's entertaining, easy to get into and requires no special skill.
But my love of playground type things hit a new high on Saturday with the trapeze class. I'm not sure what it is about hanging upside down that I like so much. It was so cool, they taught us how to get on the bar, how to hang from it in some strange ways, how to balance sitting on it. Yes my arms are a little sore today, but really not nearly as bad as I was expecting. The bruises on the backs of my knees, no one warned us about that possibility, but really i just won't rest those against my chair at work for the next day or two. It was so much fun that as soon as Kerri and I were outside we were planning the next time we could go.
So 2 thumbs up on this one folks, I think everyone should give this a try (as long as you have no fear of heights, vertigo, or fear of looking a little silly.) Also if you go wear long pants, I think the bruises would have been worse in shorts!
OK on to the next class.

Ewww, Disney does it again

Sorry to all you Disney fans, but i don't love Disney movies. I'm not into the princesses. Ok, I lie, Cinderella and Snow White have grown on me. I despise the merchandised movies and the skewed messages they send to young girls. I won't continue this rant and just get on to what I wanted to blog about. Paige is watching The Little Mermaid and it's early on where she whines at her daddy "but I'm 16!". Now I may be in the minority here but I never realized or even thought about how old this little fish was. When I heard 16 I flashed forward to the end where she marries her beloved prince. She is 16! What kind of creepy whacked out cult is King Triton running down there where 16 year olds run off and get married? I was 29 when I got married which I realize is older than usual. I can't believe this escaped my attention for so long. Disney is icky!

Super Fit Mama

So the time has come. I am done having children. My youngest is 15 months. I have no more excuses for carrying around the last few pounds that prevent me from wearing my "cute jeans".

This is a post about exercise and actually doing it. Now I know some of you moms out there are saying "I have no time" "I work" "I need to watch my stories". Blah blah blah. There is always time for something if you really want it. I worked quite a lot from home when I first had Paige - in the early morning before she woke up, in the afternoon, late at night. If I can find time for that or for watching Grey's Anatomy then I can find time to workout. Great thing about exercising is that it doesn't have to cost you one cent, only commitment and time. I can't think of any other investment in which you get more of a return.

Some people who know me groan when I complain and say I want to lose weight. I'm not really overweight but I'm not as small as I was before my second kid. Things start to spread people and they just don't snap back into place like they used to. I'm not overly concerned about my weight as much as I am about my fitness level. I have lost a lot of muscle tone and I just don't have the stamina to keep up with my daughter like I should. I try to be careful around "ears". I don't want her growing up thinking she has to be rail thin to feel good about herself. I do want to be sure that she gets that this is more about being healthy than anything else. but it's hard to keep this from her because it seems that weight loss and fitness seem to be the #1 topic lately with everyone I know. We all seem to want to accomplish something. My husband is the only one recently who has really set his mind to it and got it done. he has some serious will power...and a really good trainer at his gym. Some days I long for his "bachelor" life. Not having to worry about kids makes it so much easier but still not really easy. I'm sure Rachel can attest that it is still hard to find the time and energy to get it done.

I don't struggle with food, that's never been my problem. But since having kids...wait let me rephrase...since having my second kid I just don't seem to find the time or the energy to do it. and of course there's always the occasional health issue to throw a wrench in out plans. Last year I had a bad 6 months of Thyroid problems which almost destroyed my existence. I had hashimoto's disease and didn't know it for some time because it was pushed off as a possible pregnancy (arggggg!) or hormones. it got really bad. I gained about 10 pounds which isn't much, except for I gained it within 4 weeks time. That was bad. I had a slew of other symptoms that really knocked me out. Constant periods, dry skin, breakouts, drastic hair loss, limbs falling asleep, excessive tiredness, depression, vision deterioration, and towards the end a week long bout of nausea and vertigo. This went on for what felt like forever. At first I thought it was hormones. I had stopped breast feeding and the weight gain in the first month seemed like it could just be that. But just prior to when my thyroid "died" i was feeling really good, exercising, really happy. Anyway we finally figured it out and my endocrinologist could hardly believe I was even able to walk into her office. Now months into using a synthetic hormone I'm starting to feel normal again. Sidenote - if you feel like crap I highly recommend having your thyroid levels tested. it's very common and a lot of doctor's push it off as hormones or "the change".

Despite feeling somewhat normal again my lack of "luster" still plagues me. and I know what it is. the dreaded exercise. So I started my own self proclaimed 30 Day Fit program. This is what I am doing:

• I always made the excuse that there is no time. I always felt that I needed at least an hour and I sweat so I always need to shower. to combat this I started with 20 minute intense workouts so I had time to quickly shower. If there was no time to shower I did light cardio. Now as I'm progressing if I can do 40 minutes or an hour that's awesome but if I can only do 20 minutes that's ok too, better than no minutes at all.
• I set realistic goals. I only require that I work out 3 days a week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On these days I do intense circuit training and have been using the workouts from Jillian Michaels of the biggest loser (complimentary on Comcast on demand). They are awesome. I'm usually a yoga and pilates person so I figure doing circuit training with lots of squats and weights will be a whole new direction for me.
• I give myself bonus days of cardio on Tuesday and Thursday. If I can work it in that's great but if I can't then I don't feel like a failed myself.
• I gave up alcohol during the week. Cuts out the calories from my wine along with the blocks on cheese I usually ingest along with it.
• I weigh in a measure myself at checkpoints. I have never done this and I think it helps make me be serious about getting in shape.
• I push myself. I'm a wimp and it's easy for me not to do that last 2 reps in a set. But now I push it and squat a little deeper on that last rep.
• I tried to rope a few friends in with me for support. I started sending them bitching bragging e-mails about how much I'm working out and that they should get up off the couch and work out too. If they are reading this - "stop reading ladies and go work out!!!" Rachel has started sending me e-mails about what she's doing to work out which always makes me want to one-up her and bust out a good workout that day.

I started at the beginning of March and so far it has been GREAT. I have worked out each weekday last week and every week day so far this week. My mood has been great, my energy level has gone up and I generally feel good about myself. I'll keep you updated as to how it's going.

One last thing. Another reason I needed to shape up a bit is because Rachel and I are taking a trapeze class this Saturday. Wow, this should be interesting. we promise to blog about it! I think we are planning on doing a fun class to blog about each month. I'm really interested in learning some kickboxing. Stay tuned!

Waiting on the World to Change

Sometimes I'm reminded how innocent a child can be.

Today we were on the way home from a birthday party. Jak fell asleep and Paige and I were listening to music while she rummaged through her Pump it Up goody bag. John Mayer's song "waiting on the world to change" was on. Paige has heard it a hundred times but she asks me "mom, why is he waiting on the world to change?" At this moment I'm stumped. I've been getting used to answering her constant queries about what things are and what words mean but this one seemed very profound. So I thought for a moment and told her that he was waiting for the other people in the world to understand that being nice is better than being mean. I probably could have thought of a better explanation but this seemed to settle her curiosity because a few moments later she said "hey, where did my Nerds go?". And that was that. She moved on and I'm left thinking - wow she has no idea what's out there and what is waiting for her as she grows older. I can only hope that the world becomes a better place as the years go on. I feel slightly better knowing in my heart that the generations after us do live in a much different mindset than my generation and the ones before me. So enjoy your children now while they are sweet and innocent...well, most of the time!

Stains the Dog

Hi! It's been awhile. The dreary days of January and February in Chicago have sent me to the pit of despair. I can't wait for spring! I apologize for the lack of posts but really there just hasn't been much to talk about except for...

Stains the dog!

I watched The Soup a few weeks ago and saw the most hilarious clip evah! I finally decided to check our youtube to see if it was there because I deleted the episode from my DVR. Watch it and enjoy. The kids haven't seen it. I'm afraid it will make them frightened of dogs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUbsc_a-e3g

Sorry for the Delay

Sorry for the long pause in posts dear readers. Be assured several posts are on their way!

The dress patterns of nurses

I was recently reading an old blog of Kerri's friend Cassie who experienced the joy of grown adults in holiday sweaters. Here's a little sample from her post "Was the message somehow passed on to teachers that they must wear the ugliest, brightest and gaudiest sweaters and accessories for every holiday? Is there research out there that says students will learn better if their teacher's attire is crazy bright and busy? It was bad enough for Halloween that almost every teacher (well, usually the ones over 40) walked around for weeks before in orange and black. But now I have seen bad taste gone overboard. Giant snowmen, snowflakes, Christmas trees adorn many a teacher's upper body. One of my superiors was wearing a blood-red sweater with matching tie with Santas on it. How can I take him seriously? "
Well recently the dress code wars have reared their ugly head at my office and I wanted to let Cassie know she was not alone. It isn't just teachers that seem to have gotten some memo to dress in an ugly juvenile fashion. It's also nurses. Once a nurse over 40 is taken out of the hospital and no longer has to wear scrubs their take take on business casual is just horrifying. not only did we go through the ugly holiday top period which I believe Cassie described beautifully, nut we are now back into the usual pattern of dress like your in kindergarten. The ways grown women accomplish this is by wearing turtlenecks with little animals all over them. Or tiny seasonal patterns on the turtle necks, like fall leaves, or little hearts, or snowflakes.
Or when the dress code says no t-shirts they assume it doesn't mean no t-shirts that someone has thrown glitter on. We actually had a woman who came to work one day in coral corduroy pants, I didn't know they made those for people over 10.
Or my favorite happened the other day when on of the old women said to one of the 30 somethings "we have this dress code because your not dressed appropriately when you wear cargo pants". The punchline to this was that the older co-worker was wearing a brown velour track suit with fall colored leaves on the jacket part and she thought her outfit was totally appropriate.
Another thing I really liked was our new dress code had to specify no skorts. Skorts were actually a problem at our office. (By the way skort isn't even in spellcheck which proves people shouldn't be wearing them!) 60 yr old women walking around in floral skorts. I really never thought I would see those again once I was out of grade school.
So just know I too work with the fashion challenged and the next holiday is Valentine's day which is another experience in scary clothing at my office. I wonder if I sneak a camera in if I can get pictures without getting caught. I have to think about that.
R.

Censorship of Classic Songs

I was driving to work the other day when i heard a song i have always been very fond of "Take A Walk On The Wild Side". They actually eliminated a line from a song that has been on the radio since 1972. After all these years of airplay they now feel they have the write to remove a phrase from the sons. The phrase in question "and she never lost her head even when she was giving head" They eliminated "she was giving head" there are no bad word in that, yes it's sexually suggestive, but the censures approved it in 1972.
So what has changed now. Why is the FCC ruining perfectly good song. If anyone has other experiences of censorship gone wrong I would love to here them.
Hope everyone stays warm!
R

Cute and Evil

Cute and Evil is the name of the blog that my neighbor and friend, Cassie, writes. Recently she did a post about Juice saving the world. Basically she has started buying juice in frozen concentrate form. It's much cheaper, less packaging, etc. etc. I started doing this based on her suggestion about a month ago and it has been working out great. When I first thought about it I could only imagine orange juice since that was the only thing we drank from concentrate when I was a kid. But I found some yummy flavors at the store - pomegranate/blueberry, Apple/Passion/Mango. There are also plenty of organic juice concentrates too. If only they had V-8 fusion in concentrate. mmmmm. Here's a link to her post. Be sure to check out her recent post about HGTV's dream home as well. Something to think about.
http://cuteandevil.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-juice-can-save-world.html

This challange is just baiting me to insult someone!

In my opinion there are different levels of breastfeeding in public. There are the women who discreetly feed there infants (emphasis on infant) usually under cover of a loose top or light blanket and I have no problem with that.
There are even those women who feed there infants (emphasis on infant) not so discreetly, say they just whip out the boob and attach the infant. A little disturbing but hey the infant (emphasis on infant) has to eat, so I will say that is fine also.
Then there are the women whose children have teeth and can ask to have mommy's boob. That is unacceptable. Those children need to be eating real food. No one wants to watch a 3 yr old breast feed, that's just wrong. I know there is the "there's no more perfect food then breast milk" argument. But really once you can chew I'm sure there must be a suitable alternative. Also doesn't that hurt once those little suckers can bite.
As far as the big deal on facebook with the photos of the women breastfeeding, that was way blown out of proportion. It's a boob. And here comes the part where I offend people. We don't object to photos of cows being milked.
Now that I have probably offended everyone that reads this I will thank Kerri for bringing up this topic and have a goodnight.
R.

Challenge Topic - Public Display of Mammary Glands

Talked to a friend today. She is pregnant with her second child. With each pregnancy she gets Weezy Jefferson boobs. Her quote - "Cool thing is that they stand up on their own. Bad news- can't put my arms down." I thought this was priceless. Good thing she's a funny girl and has a sense of humor.

This reminds me of a topic I've been wanting to blog-challenge Rachel on for a long time. I'll post my feelings on the subject later. What's the subject you ask?

Breastfeeding in public. enough said. Rachel, your thoughts?

p.s. I found an article that there was some kind of hubbub on Facebook about a picture of a mom breastfeeding. Facebook is taking over!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28433838/

Best and Worst Toys of Christmas 2008

So I thought I would do a quick post of some of our toys from 2008. Both kids got a ton of stuff and it's like being a kid again because I get to play with it too! There was so much I can hardly remember it all. I'm sure I'll be editing this list as I see something I totally forgot about.

Most engaging toy award goes to - Vtech Helicopter. Jimmy got this from my aunt and he plays with it for hours. Of course it makes tons of noise so be prepared.

Most fun we can't have with yet toy - The Butterfly House. A pop-up tent in which you watch larvae pupate into butterflies. You send away for the larvae, watch them build a chrysalid and then hatch. Of course we can't do this until spring when we can release them. Of course we could do it now and let them live in the house and then watch them wither and die in 2 weeks but that wouldn't be too much fun for the kids.

Most wished for toy - Wowee Alive cub. Very cute and kinda cool. Paige would not stop talking about this cub. That being said she doesn't play with it as much as I thought she would.

Most branded toy - Tinkerbell and pixie hollow EVERYTHING!

Everything old is new again toy - Our old Kitchen set which I moved from the office into the corner of our living room, now both kids play with it all day!

Worst toy ever - Tinkerbell Pixie Dist Magic Arrival Playset - UG! where do I start? First I guess, sorry to Grandma because she is the one who bought this. The gimmick is that you put glue on Tink's wings (you get 4 sets), then you place her in the "pod" and shower glitter down upon her and her wings. First, the glue runs everywhere even if you let it dry to tacky for a while. Then the glitter WILL NOT come down no matter how much you pump. We ended up just doing it by hand and the glitter is super fine so it gets everywhere. Today Paige showed me her tink and how all the glitter fell off of one of the wings already. She was really disappointed but I think playing with the glitter in her hands made up for it. Steer clear of this one. there are better fairy toys out there if you kid is into this latest Disney craze.

Best "toy" not used for it's intended purpose - Tinkerbell Fancy Pajama outfit Paige uses for dress up instead of for sleeping. nice and cozy instead of itchy like most of the play dresses are. Tip - get old pajamas from friends or yard sales for dress up. They're just as good and much more comfortable not to mention cheaper.

Best toy mommy had more fun with than Jak - Fisher Price Clipo. He loves this, throwing the pieces, carrying them around, snapping a few together. But I love building things with it and Paige loves playing with it too. The set we got even comes with 2 heads so you can build people.

Toy I can't wait to start buying for my kids as they get older - anything from the Discovery Store - Science is cool man!

Toy list would not be complete without mentioning - My Little Pony Ponyville toys (which go along perfectly with Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop)

Last, the moms out there really need the link below. It's a service that will email you information for any recalled item out there, not only toys. I get an e-mail whenever there is some rogue toy out there harming small children. It's a great service and every parent should sign up so they are aware.
https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx

A New Year = A New You?

Yikes! Rachel has been running amok hasn't she? That's ok, I always enjoy the ravings of a mad lunatic. Strangely enough her latest post doesn't surprise me. I get calls from her all the time with tales of odd happenings or just things dumb people do. The home cremation still may have shocked me a bit. But I will file that in my need to know file in case I ever need it. You can never be too prepared.

So I'm blogging late into the night because I have to before Rachel strikes again. As long as I'm in bed by midnight I should be ok. Which makes me think of coffee. Throughout my life I never drank coffee and I didn't depend on caffeine for a pick-me-up. I was just usually able to muster up energy all on my own. I never understood people when they had to have their coffee and couldn't live without it. Then I had children and I tried coffee. I must applaud my friend Amy for my first taste of a cappuccino one night at her house. It was delicious and I talked late into the night leaving her and her husband yawning because I was so wound up from it. Now I drink 1 cup every day. I need it and I crave it. Not only for a little boost but because I savor my coffee time. When I have coffee I sit down and relax for a bit. I might talk on the phone with a friend, watch the kids play, read a magazine. as long as it's not work. I now highly recommend coffee to my mommy friends. and if you don't drink coffee then try to find something else like a cup of tea, a crossword or sudoku (I love both), whatever you can do for a few minutes each day to just stop and relax for even a short moment. mmmm coffee. Can't wait for my coffee tomorrow.

I don't know about you readers but I'm thrilled for tomorrow and the tomorrow after that and the whole new year. I'm feeling good and hopeful and energized. My biggest thing this year is "No more waste". meaning time, money, whatever. I have a lot to do that I have been putting off for some time and this is my year to put behind the old list and get on with some new stuff. Including but not limited to blogging more. I sometimes wonder though about resolutions. Why do we feel the need to change ourselves or promise to change ourselves every year? Weren't we fine just as we were? Nope apparently not. I'm always trying to improve something and I hope this does not rub off negatively on my children. I think it's great to want to constantly progress but I think we do that at the price of appearing that we are then never good enough. So what can I do? Sorry readers but I don't think I have the answer to that just yet. Maybe I'll tackle it and say I'm "learning" or "trying something new". That seems more positive. I'll let you know.

2008 Kerri was not so bad but I sure do miss 2002 Kerri. She was at her best! and 1996 kerri was totally awesome. I hope 2009 Kerri is cool. Happy new year!!!